European and international institutions have officially responded to the situation surrounding journalist and New Caucasus editor Irakli Chikhladze, reports the human rights platform Ombudsman Media.
Chikhladze was detained in Tbilisi on May 30 on espionage charges. He faces up to 12 years in prison. Investigators allege that the journalist “led an intelligence network on the instructions of a foreign special service.” Human rights defenders and supporters of Irakli Chikhladze maintain that the charges are fabricated. The court trial is scheduled for September 9.
According to Ombudsman Media, one week before the hearings commence, the international campaign in defense of the journalist has entered an active phase.
- The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia officially stated that it is closely monitoring the Chikhladze case against the backdrop of the broader deterioration of the human rights situation and “democratic backsliding” in the country. In Brussels and Tbilisi, serious concern was voiced over the disproportionate reliance on pre-trial detention and the politically motivated persecution of civil society, calling into question Georgia’s adherence to the right to a fair trial;
- The British Embassy in Tbilisi confirmed that the UK diplomatic mission routinely tracks Chikhladze’s court proceedings, monitoring adherence to media freedom standards and the rule of law;
- The EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) officially recognized the high importance of Irakli Chikhladze’s longstanding work documenting human rights violations and humanitarian crises among conflict-affected populations along the administrative boundary lines (lines of occupation).
The report by Ombudsman Media also notes that the Washington-based think tank The Jamestown Foundation officially acknowledged a prior factual error in its publication and corrected the article, fully clearing Chikhladze of false suspicions of working for pro-Russian entities and decoupling his case from that of Gulbaat Rtskhiladze, who was detained at the same time and faces similar charges.
In addition, on September 2, a complaint regarding Irakli Chikhladze’s isolation and the violation of his rights was registered by the Office of the Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia. The Ombudsman’s office has reportedly launched an urgent inspection into the conditions of his incommunicado detention at Gldani Prison No. 8.
Ombudsman Media also stated that it will continue coordinating submissions of materials to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.